The present invention relates generally to the drying and setting of materials, and more particularly, but not limited to, the drying ink and paint coatings.
A variety of industrial, commercial and consumer goods require a solidification process, either removal of liquids contained in the structure of the goods, or a coating applied thereon, or by catalysis of the goods themselves or their coatings. Some materials require a curing process that may is usually initiated by the addition of some form of energy. In the case of many inks and coatings, the removal of some or all of the liquid portion to initiate solidification releases a large perfusion of fumes and vapors, many having known health risks. Commonly, a large volume of high-velocity heated air is directed at the surface, even though only a fraction of the air actually comes even near the surface, due to the difficulty in penetrating through the “boundary layer effect” of vapors and gasses near the surface. The countercurrent of fumes and vapors clinging to the surface also create a barrier against convective heating as well as preventing radiation from reaching the surface of the material to be dried.
Electrostatic precipitators generally will not remove gasses, so an odor would remain. Large high-pressure fans are required to even partially penetrate the boundary layer near the surface of the material, and once the blast of hot air, fume and vapors has left the surface it is not usually reused, but is “cleaned up” and exhausted into the atmosphere. Due to the huge volumes of air contaminated with vapors and fumes produced by this process, removal of the contaminants through incineration or high-temperature catalysis is expensive and wasteful, often doubling the energy expenditure of the initial drying operation. Water based coating drying systems, while not requiring as much “clean-up” of the effluent, still require substantial amounts of energy and process time due to the high latent h at of vaporization of water, thus slowing production rates.